Shouta Aizawa: Origin
by EraserKitty
Summary: After a string of kidnappings occurs, Shouta Aizawa is forced to relive painful memories from his past, as well as fight against the one person who inspired him to become a hero. When he discovers his old friend has turned to villainy, who will he protect in the end? (Manga Spoilers up to The Joint Training Arc)
1. Old Friend or New Foe?

**A/N:** Hey everyone! I'm very excited to start posting chapters for my new fic, centered around my favorite sleepy pro-hero! For a long time, I've wondered what it was that made someone as grumpy as Aizawa want to become a hero in the first place, and that's how this story was born.

If there are ANY sort of inaccuracies, cut me some slack. I'm caught up on the manga, but have barely read any of Vigilantes/Illegals, so I'm not sure too much on what's already been set up for Eraser's backstory there. **There will be slight spoilers for the original manga in here.** Then again, this isn't supposed to be canon to the anime or manga soooo whatever.

I have read a couple of these stories where it focuses on Aizawa's potential backstory, but I wanted this to be more like the "origin" episodes from the anime, by focusing on one new story arc, while also including some made-up stuff from his past.

To help ease any confusion, I'll be using Aizawa or Eraser/head referring to present-day. Flashbacks, or the younger versions, will be referred to as Shouta. Not that it would really confuse anyone, but just to keep things consistent. Also, flashbacks will be italicized. Ikou!

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE: OLD FRIEND OR NEW FOE?**

The twenty members of UA High School's Class 1-A sit at their desks, talking amongst themselves. As the bell rings to begin homeroom, Shouta Aizawa takes to his podium to start his lecture. "All right, settle down," Aizawa begins in his monotone, yet somehow, authoritative voice. "For today's lesson, we're going to be discussing tactical maneuvers when facing villains with a gigantification Quirk". Before he gets the chance to begin the lesson for the day, the door to the classroom bursts open. A boisterous Present Mic stands in the doorway, with a relaxed Cementoss in tow.

"Yo! Yo! Yoooo! Class 1-A! What's goooooood?!"

"Need something, Mic?" Aizawa asks, unamused by his friend's energetic personality, as always.

"I just wanted to wax philosophical with these young folks here, ya dig?" Mic hoots, strutting up to the podium. Once he's close enough, he leans forward and whispers in Aizawa's ear, "Nezu wants to meet with us. Says it's urgent".

Aizawa sighs. "Fine," he grumbles to his friend before addressing the class directly. "Okay, students. Seems I'm needed elsewhere right now. Cementoss will be overseeing class for the time being." As Aizawa and Present Mic make their way out of the classroom, the students once again begin mumbling to one another.

Midoriya watches the pair of heroes leave and sees that something about this situation is unusual. He leans forward in his seat to talk to Bakugo.

"Hmm, that was weird. What do you think's going on, Kacchan?"

"Shut up, nerd! How would I know?!" Bakugo shouts back.

"I hope he's not in trouble," Uraraka remarks.

"Who, Mr. Aizawa? Of course not!" Iida replies. "Sure, some of his teaching methods are a little unconventional, but I'd argue that's helped to build the foundation of our class. He pushes us to be the best that we can be, and as future heroes, we have to strive to become—"

Other students pipe up to get Iida to stop talking, while others worry about what might be going on.

"He's totally fired," Mineta mutters to himself, among the commotion of other voices.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Outside of the classroom, Aizawa calmly makes his way into the conference room, while Mic is seen peeking his head in the doorway behind him, nervous as can be. He doesn't let it show, but Aizawa's a bit surprised to find other pros and faculty members already waiting there: Midnight, Snipe, Power Loader, even All Might. Tsukauchi is also there, standing by Nezu's side, facing the two heroes that were just summoned.

"You wanted to see us, Principal?" Aizawa asks.

"Ah, Eraserhead! Yes, please have a seat," Nezu responds, a furry hand raised in the air to greet him. Two seats are positioned together, facing the table full of pros. Mic is quick to take a seat there, but Aizawa takes note of the fact that the other heroes are already seated at the tables with serious looks on their faces; all eyes are on him and Mic. It's the solemn expression on All Might's face in particular that tells him… _something's up. _

"I think I'll stand," Aizawa contests.

"Very well. I do apologize for taking you from your class, but I'm afraid this is a rather urgent matter. I know you're not one to waste time, so we'll cut right to the chase". Nezu looks to Tsukauchi to lead the discussion.

"It's recently been brought to our attention that an organization of villains known as The Paradox Council have been involved in a string of kidnapping cases in the last few weeks." Tsukauchi leans down and begins displaying photos on the desk. "There have been seven kidnappings in the last two weeks alone. The first took place in Edogawa, the second in Kōtō, just a few miles from the first kidnapping. The villains got brave after that and kidnapped three more in Shinjuku, and another two in Minato." Tsukauchi stands back straight. "To put it plainly, we believe that if the villains' continue on their path, it's likely their next stop will be UA".

"Hmm? What makes you say that?" Mic asks.

"One of the victims from Shinjuku managed to escape and came forward to the police. And from what we can tell, it seems that these villains are targeting individuals with powerful Quirks and kidnapping them in order to gain control of their power in some way. The victim who came forward reported that their Quirk Factor has been severely diminished since encountering these villains, so it's safe to assume the same is true for the other victims as well. We're unsure of what their ultimate goal is for all of this, but it can't be good."

Aizawa sticks his hands in his pockets. "Got it. So, how exactly does this pertain to the two of us directly?"

"During our investigation, we've uncovered some information regarding the group's tactics, as well as the names and Quirks of some of the members involved. Most of them are low-level thugs; petty criminals with rather short records. But it's the leader of this group that has us concerned". Tsukauchi holds a photo up of a man with short, yet shaggy white hair and grey eyes. The majority of his face is concealed by a black face mask.

A cold chill runs down Aizawa's spine. A brief look of terror fills his face, but he's quick to suppress it. All Might is the only person that takes note of his quick expression.

"Yukio Adachi. As it turns out, he was a former student here at UA. He was here for less than a year before he was kicked out of the school, though there doesn't appear to be information as to why in his file." Tsukauchi holds up another photo of a younger Yukio in a UA uniform. Instead of the face mask, Yukio can be seen smiling in this photo. "Additionally, his power is listed as 'unknown' in the Quirk Registry, so it's unclear how exactly he uses his Quirk and what his full capabilities are. But, based on the victim's statement, it appears his Quirk is somehow responsible for the victims' loss of power." Tsukauchi looks to Aizawa. "It's my understanding that both you and Present Mic attended UA with him at the same time, is that correct?"

Mic shifts in his seat, placing his hand to his chin, trying to recollect. "Hmm, the name sounds familiar, but I'm not sure. Eraser and I must've been in a different class than him".

Nezu looks concerned and turns to Aizawa. "And you, Eraserhead? Do you know this man?"

There's a brief pause from Aizawa as he looks to the photo, but he simply responds with, "No, I don't".

"Well… given the circumstances, I thought it would be best if you heard it from us first, before the public gets wind of this. Even though he didn't end up becoming a pro hero, the reputation of UA would be severely tarnished if word got out that one of its heroes in training turned to villainy".

Tsukauchi nods, in agreement with Nezu. "We're still following leads on where to apprehend Adachi and his crew, but we've recently hit a dead end. We'll keep you updated if anything comes up. And, of course, we'll be relying on the power of you heroes when the time comes".

"In the meantime, if there's a chance the villains could be targeting UA, we'll need to implement a security measure to keep the students safe. Until the police or heroes can apprehend these criminals, we'll need to temporarily suspend school activities and put the students under lockdown in the dorms, effective immediately".

"Understood. Is that all then?" Aizawa asks, politely.

"Yes, I suppose it is. Thank you both for your time".

As they head out the door, a concerned Mic looks to Aizawa who continues walking forward. "Adachi, huh? It's been so many years, I can't really remember what kind of person he was like. You think any of our other old classmates remember him, Eraser?"

"How should I know?"

"Hey man, what's with the hostility?" Mic screeches in his 'I'm-_so _-offended-but-don't-really-care-that-much' tone.

All Might comes rushing out the door they just exited from, trying to catch up to the pair. "Aizawa! Hey, you got a sec?" Aizawa and Mic both stop in their place as they see All Might coming toward them.

"Uh, guess we'll pick up this discussion later, Eraser! Ciao-man!" Mic turns the corner, leaving the two teachers alone together.

"What is it?" Aizawa asks.

"About this Adachi guy…" The very mention of Yukio causes Aizawa to continue walking down the hall, away from All Might, and he has no choice but to follow after him. "You seemed pretty caught off guard when you saw his photo".

"You must be seeing things". Aizawa shrugs off the comment.

"Come on Aizawa, level with me," All Might pleads, trying to keep up with Aizawa's pace, even though he isn't walking all that fast (All Might's just that weak in his normal form). "You know who this guy is, don't you?" Aizawa continues walking without a response. "If you know something that could help the police with their investigation, then—"

"It's like I said, I barely knew the kid. Whatever happened to him after he left UA has nothing to do with me". The way Aizawa says that comes across colder than usual. His comment isn't out of anger, but rather… resentment?

The tone in Aizawa's voice leaves All Might frozen in place. He doesn't know what else to say, so he simply watches as Aizawa continues to walk away from him.

As he walks away, a look of antipathy rests on Aizawa's face. He's lost in an old memory:

_A young Shouta Aizawa is on his hands and knees, coughing._

_"C'mon, man, get up. I didn't hit you that hard." A young boy commands._

_Shouta pants heavily, desperately trying to catch his breath. "I… can't."_

_"Don't say that! It's a hero's job to keep fighting, even when they think they can't. And when the bad guys think they're out of strength, that's always when the hero gets back on his feet. That's what it means to be a hero!"_

"Yukio…" Aizawa whispers to himself as he walks down the hall alone. "What happened to you…?"

* * *

**A/N:** Eeek! No going back now, yeah? I've been hesitant to post this first chapter because I don't want people to be anticipating new chapters if I don't have time to write. But I'm just gonna go for it, because if I don't, I never will. So, here it is. I'll try to have chapter two up soon, but let me know what you think.


	2. There's Something Wrong With My Teacher

**A/N:** Chapter two, baby, here we are! I'm so glad to have this story moving along. It's gonna start getting real interesting soon.

**(This chapter contains spoilers up to chapter 184 in the manga)**

* * *

**CHAPTER TWO: THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH MY TEACHER**

That night, while he has them all gathered together in the common area of the dorm, Aizawa decides to break the news of the lockdown to the students.

"Wait, what?"

"Lockdown?"

"Are you serious?"

"What does that mean?"

"Quiet down," Aizawa commands to get control of the students. "I assure you, this lockdown to the dorms is only temporary," he asserts, motioning for them to settle down. "It's merely a security measure to ensure the safety of you students. I'm not at liberty to discuss the details, but I'm sure you all have a lot of questions, so I'm going to address them to the best of my ability".

The students begin clamoring over each other yet again, asking things like 'does this mean classes will be canceled' and 'will we still be able to contact our parents', among other things.

"One at a time," Aizawa commands.

Tsu raises her hand to speak first. "Ribbit, this doesn't have something to do with the League of Villains, does it?" She asks, with worry in her voice.

"Thankfully, no. And from what I understand, it doesn't appear that any one of you in particular is a target. Administration simply wants you all to lay low and remain under supervision for the time being".

Yaoyorozu raises a hand in the air. "But Sensei, if there's a chance we're being targeted, is it wise for all of us to remain in the same place?"

"That's a fair point. However, with so many students, it would be difficult to keep all of you accounted for. This way, if the villains do plan to attack, UA will be under protection and prepared to handle such an attack. But, as it stands right now, there's nothing definitive that proves any of you are in danger."

"Then what the hell are we hiding for?!" Bakugo barks.

"These villains are extremely dangerous, and the school isn't willing to risk of any of you encountering them. Like I said, this is for your own safety."

Todoroki half-raises his hand in the air. "What exactly are the pros doing about all of this?"

"For now, we're entrusting this matter to the police. When it comes down to it, they'll be requesting the assistance of the pros to aid them in apprehending these villains. But until then, this is purely under their jurisdiction."

"Grrr, dammit!" Kirishima shouts. "So, we're supposed to just sit on our hands and wait?!"

"It's frustrating, I know. But it is what it is." Aizawa sees the anxious looks on his students' faces, but there's nothing more he can say to put them at ease. "Truthfully, I wish I could tell you more. That's all."

With that, Aizawa turns and leaves the students in the common area to process everything. While some of the students decide to carry on with other things, others begin talking amongst themselves about the situation.

"Is that really it?" Midoriya mutters to himself.

"Deku? What's up?" Uraraka asks.

"Did Aizawa-Sensei seem strange to you just now?"

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"It's clear that there's something going on that he's not telling us about. But I don't think it's because he couldn't tell us more. I think he didn't want to," Midoriya ponders.

"Well, there's no way to know for sure," Iida tells them. "All we can do is trust in Aizawa-Sensei and the other teachers to keep us safe. I'm sure they have the situation under control."

"Yeah, sure. But it's unusual for them to keep information like this from us, don't you think?" Midoriya presses.

"Mm-hmm," Uraraka nods. "Plus, we've had run-ins with villains before and they've never had to put us on lockdown like this. It kinda makes me nervous."

Iida puts one hand on Midoriya's shoulder, the other on Uraraka's. "We need to trust in the pros," he advises, with a smile. "If we can't put faith in others, what good are we as future heroes?"

"Yeah…" Midoriya agrees reluctantly. "You're right, Iida. Sorry. Guess I let my worry get the best of me."

"That's all right. Now, it's late. Why don't we get started on dinner? We're having beef stew tonight!"

"I wanna chop the carrots!" Uraraka cheers, excitedly.

As the students all continue on with their evening, Midoriya can't help but feel a pit in his stomach over the whole situation.

**xxxxxxxx**

Aizawa makes his way into the empty room in the teacher's lounge, now occupied by a young Eri. The lights are off in the room, and Eri is sleeping soundly in bed. Aizawa sits at the computer desk and sighs. He looks over at Eri and watches her sleeping peacefully. This feeling is familiar to him; an old memory comes to mind:

_As his mother lies in bed for the night, a young Aizawa, probably four or five, sits against the wall with his knees to his chest, watching her. His eyes continually droop as he struggles to stay awake._

"_Shouta… You need sleep," his mother murmurs softly._

"_No," Shouta whispers, shaking his head. "I can't"._

"_But you haven't slept in days. What if you rested just for a little bit?"_

"_I can't. I don't want him to hurt you anymore"._

"_Shouta…"_

"_I need to protect you," he protests; his own form of anger developing within him. "If I don't, then who will?"_

Aizawa's face falls, thinking about the past. "Some things never change, huh?" He whispers to himself. He sits in the chair, watching Eri sleep; his eyes continually droop as he struggles to awake.

**xxxxxxxx**

The next morning, Midoriya makes his way into the teacher's lounge, where he finds All Might sitting alone, waiting for him.

"Hey, young Midoriya. I got your text. How's the lockdown been treating you?" All Might laughs.

"Oh, it's fine. Doesn't really feel any different yet. Listen, I wanted to talk to you about something".

"Sure, kid. Lay it on me," All Might says, nonchalantly.

"You wouldn't happen to know if something's been bothering Aizawa-Sensei would you?"

All Might's demeanor shifts to a more serious one. "So you noticed it too, huh?"

"Yeah. I don't think anyone else did, but it definitely seemed like something was wrong to me. Do you know what's going on, All Might?"

"I don't really know how much I can tell you," All Might groans, rubbing the back of his head.

"I know, but-!" Midoriya stops himself from getting too worked up. All Might sees the concern in his successor's eyes. All he's ever wanted was to help people; how can he ignore that?

"How much has he told you about what's going on?"

"Not much. He said that we're not being targeted, but that the police are after some dangerous villains and we need to be on lockdown, so we don't run into them".

"Yeah, well, that's pretty much all there is to it".

"But if they aren't targeting us, then what are they after?" All Might frowns a little, hesitant to answer Midoriya's question. "All Might, please".

All Might stands and faces the window. "If I tell you, you have to promise me you won't do anything reckless".

"Yeah, okay".

All Might turns back to Midoriya with a stern look on his face. "I mean it. I know how you can get. This is serious and I don't want you putting yourself in danger, alright?"

"I swear," Midoriya agrees, crossing his heart.

All Might sighs deeply. "They're called the Paradox Council".

"The Paradox Council? I've never heard of them".

"Neither have I, until today. Truth be told, they don't seem all that dangerous to me".

"If they aren't really that dangerous, then why put the school on lockdown?"

"It's not the group as a whole the police are concerned with. It's their leader. A guy by the name of Yukio Adachi. Seems no one knows what his Quirk is or how he uses it, but it's somehow responsible for peoples' Quirks disappearing".

"Woah, you mean like—"

"Yeah". Midoriya doesn't have to finish his thought; they both know what this reminds them of. "All For One. I don't know for sure if he's behind this somehow, but after Kamino, we can't be too careful. And, if I'm being honest, it was my idea to put the school on lockdown. Principal Nezu happened to agree with me".

"That makes sense. But what makes the police think we might be targeted?"

"Apparently, Adachi used to be a student here. Kicked out during his first year, though they can't figure out why. Plus, this is UA we're talking about. If there are villains looking for powerful Quirks to steal, this is the place to find them".

"You think this is all over some old grudge?"

"I don't know what their purpose is. But I do know they've stolen the Quirks of seven people already and there's a chance they could be coming for UA next. If they managed to get ahold of such powerful Quirks like Young Bakugo or Young Todoroki's… or even One For All…"

"We won't let that happen," Midoriya interjects, determined.

"That's right. Because you're going to keep this to yourself and let the pros and the police handle this, understand?" All Might commands, in a very strict tone.

"Yes, sir! Right!" Midoriya shrieks, fearful of All Might's wrath, but then quickly relaxes. "So, wait, what is it that has Aizawa-Sensei so worked up?"

"Wish I knew". All Might shrugs. "Though, if we're speaking candidly, I think he might know the guy who's responsible".

"Woah, wait, really?"

"I don't know for sure. But during the briefing, he seemed surprised to see his picture. They both attended UA the same year, but he said he didn't recognize him. When I asked him about it, he was quick to shut me down. Truthfully, I don't know much else, and I don't think you'll get anything out of Aizawa either".

"You're probably right". Midoriya frowns.

"Listen, I'll talk to Tsukauchi and see if he has any more information. If I happen to find out anything, I'll let you know".

"You'd do that? Thanks," Midoriya says, appreciative that All Might would be willing to stick his neck out for him.

"I'm doing this for me, as much as I'm doing it for you too. I know he's your teacher, but he's also my friend. And I can't stand to see a friend in trouble".

Midoriya nods. "Yeah, you're right".

As he leaves the teacher's lounge, Midoriya walks past Aizawa who, despite his normal personality, seems to be hanging his head lower than usual.

"Oh, hey, Aizawa-Sensei…" Midoriya begins, a little afraid of how his teacher might respond. "Has there been any update on the—?"

"Leave it alone, Midoriya," Aizawa answers bluntly, with his back to Midoriya. "This doesn't concern you".

His harsh tone makes Midoriya all the more suspicious. "Who is Yukio Adachi to you?" He asks, defensively. Aizawa's eyes widen, taken by surprise. Aizawa's silence only confirms Midoriya's suspicions. "Are these villains really after UA? … Or are they after you?" He asks, in a tone he's never used with his teacher before. As Aizawa turns to face him, Midoriya's stoic demeanor quickly fades away.

"Midoriya…" Aizawa begins in a docile tone. "I'm asking you, please, stay out of it".

With that genuine request, Aizawa walks away, leaving Midoriya alone in the hallway. A look of worry appears on his face. _"There's no way this is just in my head."_ Midoriya thinks to himself. _"Something's definitely wrong. But what? And how am I supposed to help him in this situation? Isn't there something I can do?"_

* * *

**A/N:** Are the villains really after Aizawa? Will Midoriya be able to help his teacher? Keep reading to find out!


	3. The Legend of The Quirk Thief

**A/N:** Flashbacks are in italics and centered. Character thoughts are only in italics. No manga spoilers in this chapter.

* * *

**CHAPTER THREE: THE LEGEND OF THE QUIRK THIEF**

There's a knock at the door. Midoriya gets up from his bed to see who it could be. It's peculiar to him that anyone in this age would come looking for him physically instead of just sending a quick text.

When he opens the door, he's horrified to find his homeroom teacher standing on the other side.

Midoriya lets out a high-pitched yelp. "AH! Aizawa-Sensei, hey! What are you-uh-what can I-uhhhh…"

"We need to talk," Aizawa begins calmly.

Midoriya's heart drops in his chest. _"What could he want to talk about?" _He worries to himself. _"He must still be upset after what I said yesterday. This is it! I'm finally going to be expelled…!" _Midoriya clenches his eyes tight, afraid of what might transpire next.

"Can I come in?" Aizawa asks politely.

Midoriya's eyes shoot open, surprised by his teacher's relaxed demeanor. "Oh, yeah, sur—"

As he opens the door wider to let his teacher inside, he looks behind him and realizes his overwhelming plethora of All Might merch is out on full display. Midoriya lets out a strained gasp, mortified at the situation. "Oh, uh, it's not what it looks like! Really! I just- uh- someone gave these to me, yeah! Yeah, that's it! They were a gift and I couldn't just say no to such a nice gesture, you know, so, yeah, heh heh heh…"

Aizawa pays no mind to Midoriya's ramblings. Just a quick eye roll is about all he can muster, considering he really isn't all that concerned with it.

"A-anyway, you wanted to talk? I You must be mad because All Might told me about what's going on, right? I'm sorry. I shouldn't have meddled in your business. And I probably shouldn't have opened my mouth like that either, especially after he told me not to." Midoriya looks down at the floor, ashamed.

"No, probably not. But I haven't come here to lecture you." Aizawa pauses for a brief moment, then sighs. "I came to apologize".

"Huh? For what?"

"The fact that you went to All Might looking for answers, proves that I haven't been fulfilling my duties as a teacher. It's my job not only to make sure I train you students to the best of my ability, but also to keep you protected. That's my responsibility not only as your teacher, but as a hero as well. Keeping this information from you all, though I initially thought would be in your best interest, was a major oversight. It didn't protect you at all. All it did was make you worry."

"So, then was All Might's hunch true? Do you really know this Adachi guy?"

Aizawa hesitates for a moment. "You mind if I sit?"

"Oh, y-eah, sure."

Aizawa takes a seat at Midoriya's desk, ready to unload his thoughts. "Yukio and I met long before UA. Believe it or not, I spent most of my childhood in an orphanage".

"Oh, you don't have to—"

Aizawa simply raises a hand in the air to stop him. "The least I owe you is the truth".

**xxxxxxxx**

_A young Aizawa sits huddled in a corner, shaking. His mother is laying on the ground, crying in pain. A man, who is definitely not his father, stands over the woman. His hands are clenched into fists and appear to be made of a solid crystal-like substance._

"_How many times do we have to do this before you understand?" The man growls, menacingly._

"_I'm s-sorry. I'll-I'll do better next time, I promise!" The woman shudders._

"_That's not good enough!" The man bellows, using his Quirk again before hitting her._

_Shouta clenches his eyes shut and holds his palms against his ears to drown out the sounds of his mother crying and pleading. And then…_

"_STOP IT!" He screams, his eyes now wide-open and glowing red with anger. His hair stands on end._

_The crystalline man turns to the boy, stunned. "What did you say?" He lifts his hand and attempts to activate his Quirk… but nothing. "What the hell?" He looks back to the boy, noting his teary, glowing red eyes and raised hair. "What did you do to me?" He storms over, grabbing the boy by the shirt and lifting him in the air. Shouta closes his eyes tight once again in fear, and his hair falls. Before the man can get a punch in, Shouta's mother lunges from behind and grabs onto the man. He flings her across the room, and she hits the wall, knocking her unconscious._

_The man walks back over to Shouta, grinning devilishly. His fists turn to crystal once again and he grabs Shouta by the shirt. "Say goodnight, kid," he chuckles before knocking Shouta unconscious as well._

**xxxxxxxx**

"My mother didn't have the sort of Quirk that she could use to defend herself. But I was just a kid… and I couldn't protect her forever..." Aizawa trails off, then continues his story.

**xxxxxxxx**

_Shouta sits alone in the backseat of a car, pouting with his arms crossed. But this pout isn't a childish one, it's entirely warranted. He's without a home, without his mother. He truly feels he has nothing now._

_He stares out the window, unwilling to talk to the two adults in the front that he doesn't know. The woman in the passenger seat turns around to look at the young boy, a sincere smile on her face._

"_Don't worry, Shouta. You're going to like your new home, I'm sure of it. They'll take good care of you there"._

"_Hey, new kid, what's your Quirk?"_

"_Yeah, we wanna see!"_

"_Uh… well…" Shouta responds hesitantly, though the excitable boys don't acknowledge his response._

_One boy, who is too stimulated for his own good, interrupts Shouta. "My Quirk lets me bend my fingers backwards! Neat, huh?" The boy gloats, demonstrating for him._

"_My Quirk's really cool too! Watch!" The gap-toothed boy activates his Quirk, and suddenly his hands begin to crystalize, much like the frightening man from before. The sight of this immediately frightens Shouta._

"_N-no, get away!" Shouta yells, backing away from the boys. As he continues to back away, he trips over a rock, and ends up falling backward. In the same instant that he yells out, his eyes glow a burning red and his hair stands on end. The gap-toothed boy looks to his hands, realizing his Quirk has somehow been shut off._

"_Whoa, what the heck?" The boy gasps, bewildered._

"_What did you do?" The other boy asks. As they look to Shouta, they notice his sudden change in appearance and yell out, afraid of him._

"_Sensei! Sensei!" The two boys scream, running in the opposite direction. Of course, as soon as Shouta blinks, he goes back to looking normal. The boys come back with an older woman, frantic as can be._

"_He-he stole my Quirk!" The gap-toothed boy yells, pointing at Shouta, who is still on the ground._

"_What?" The teacher responds, unable to comprehend what's going on._

"_He looked like a demon!" The other boy yells, hiding behind the teacher. This hurts Shouta's feelings, and a look of shame forms on his face._

"_Children, that's no way to talk about someone…!" The teacher chides the boys, defending Shouta. But he's too upset to hear it. All he feels in this moment is solitude and disgrace. A feeling he knows all too well._

_This was the start of a legend at the orphanage: The legend of The Quirk Thief._

"_Did you hear about the new kid?"_

"_What about him?"_

"_I hear that if you lock eyes with him, he steals your Quirk from you."_

"_What? No way!"_

"_I don't wanna lose my Quirk!"_

"_We should stay away from him then."_

"_Stay away from us, Quirk Thief!" Shouta looks up from the ground at the boys who just pushed him down, blood trickling down his nose. The fierce-looking boy in the middle scoffs at Shouta's pathetic looking face, and then kicks sand into his eyes. The boys all begin laughing hysterically as Shouta aggressively rubs at his eyes._

_The boys' laughter begins to subside when they hear a rustling in the tree above them. They look up, curious as to what's up there. The rustling stops for just a moment then, suddenly, a young boy jumps out of the tree, falling toward the boys. "SCATTER!" The falling boy shouts. The other boys try to get out of the way as quickly as possible; some of them tripping over themselves. The boy from the tree lands on all fours and then stands heroically in front of Shouta. "Begone, villains!" He exclaims._

"_Not this freak again," one boy groans, with a little bit of fear in his voice. "Let's get out of here". The boys all disperse, leaving Shouta and the tree-dwelling boy alone._

"_Ha-Ha-Ha!" The boy laughs like All Might. "You're no match for me, evildoers!" With another hearty laugh, the boy turns around to face Shouta directly. He has shaggy, white hair and grey eyes. "Don't worry about those guys. They think they're tough, but they're not really all that". Shouta looks to the boy, a little wary of his presence. "The name's Adachi, but my friends call me Yukio. Nice to meet ya, kid!" The boy extends his hand to Shouta, but he slaps it away and gets up on his own._

"_I didn't ask for your help," Shouta sneers, dusting himself off. "I can take care of myself"._

"_Sure, but that doesn't mean you have to". Shouta pauses- he's right after all. "You want to keep having no friends? Be my guest, kid"._

"_I don't need any friends," Shouta professes coldly. For just a moment, though, he softens. "But thank you"._

"_No problem. That's what heroes do!" Yukio exclaims, a wide smile plastered on his face._

"_Heroes?" Shouta scoffs, the concept foreign to him. "Yeah, right. All you did was fall from a tree. You coulda got hurt doing that."_

"_It stopped those bullies, didn't it? Heroes have to take risks to help those in need"._

"_Okay, but you don't even know me. What's in it for you?"_

"_Nothing. It's just the right thing to do. You were in trouble and I wanted to help, that's all."_

_Aizawa lets his guard down. He's never been shown this level of sincerity before. "Why are you being nice to me? Aren't you worried I'll steal your Quirk?"_

"_Nah. Those guys are scared of something that's not possible, after all. Plus, you seem like an okay kid to me."_

_Shouta's whole being relaxes now. "M… My name's Aizawa. Er, Shouta. I guess you can call me Shouta."_

_Yukio grins. "Okay! Shochan it is!"_

"_No. Please don't call me that," Shouta urges, embarrassed._

"_You got it, kid!"_

"_It's not 'kid', either!" Shouta retorts, not in an angry way, but in a way that brothers would bicker with each other. "It's Shouta. Just Shouta."_

"_Okay, 'Just Shouta'!"_

"_Ugh!"_

**xxxxxxxx**

"From that day on, Yukio and I always had each other's backs. He was someone I could rely on… and someone I looked up to". Aizawa looks up and sees Midoriya is choked up, with tears welling in his eyes. "Why are you crying?"

"I'm s-o-rry! It's j-ust a re-ally mo-oving sto-orry!" Midoriya wails in-between his over dramatic sobs.

Aizawa sighs and decides to move on with the rest of his story. "After we both got into UA, he started struggling with using his Quirk properly. He didn't meet the standards that were expected of first years, as I'm sure you're well aware. And when he realized he wasn't doing well in school, he started to change. He would act out all the time and get angry over nothing. I couldn't even get through to him by that point. He wasn't the same person anymore. Eventually, he was expelled, though I don't know the details regarding why. Ever since his expulsion, I haven't seen or heard from him. It was almost like he had disappeared. Truthfully, I thought the worst had happened. Turns out I was right." Aizawa looks to Midoriya who has nothing to say in response. "So yeah, I do know him. But I honestly don't know why he ended up on the other side, or what he and his group are after now. I know All Might's been pushing me for information, but I really don't have anything that would help the police with their investigation. That's why I didn't say anything".

"Then, why did you decide to tell me?"

"When you asked me if I knew Yukio, you had this look in your eyes. A look that told me you might do something that would put yourself in danger. I've seen that look too many times. And not just from you. Like I said, it's my responsibility to protect you. I figured telling you the truth was the best way to do that".

"Sensei…"

Aizawa stands up, having said everything he needed to say. "Now then. I'll let you carry on with your day. I have a lot of things I need to tend to myself".

"Yeah, sure thing". On that note, Aizawa leaves Midoriya in his room alone. Overwhelmed by what he just heard, Midoriya falls back onto his bed. _"Is that really the answer I was looking for?"_ He asks himself. He sighs deeply, staring up at the ceiling. "Aizawa-Sensei…"


	4. Can You Help Him, Mr Deku?

**A/N:** Sorry for the very long hiatus from this story. I've had a lot going on, but I'm finally back to posting. We're really close to the meat of this story, and I can't wait to share it with you all. Things are gonna start getting INTENSE. I'll try not to make you wait so long for the next one.

**(This chapter contains spoilers up to chapter 184 in the manga)**

* * *

**CHAPTER FOUR: CAN YOU HELP HIM, MR. DEKU?**

Two weeks had passed since the UA lockdown was implemented. Lectures for classes started being held within the UA dorms, and restricted training took place in areas that were deemed safe enough on campus. There was still no word from the police, regarding their investigation into the Paradox Council.

The silence was unnerving. Everyone could feel this strange sense of unease that had spread throughout the school. The students were still kept in the dark about what was really going on, except for Midoriya who had a clearer picture of the circumstances after his conversation with Aizawa.

Ever since that talk, the two of them never really shared more than awkward glances with each other. Even still, with all the new information Midoriya had, he still worried for his teacher. He could see there was something deeper that Aizawa was struggling with, and he didn't know what to do to help him.

As Aizawa ended the day's lesson, Midoriya couldn't help but look on and wonder why none of the other students could see that something was wrong. If they did have concerns, certainly no one was showing it. Everyone just seemed to carry on as usual. Everyone except Todoroki, who could see there was something bothering his friend.

"Something on your mind, Midoriya?" Todoroki inquires.

"Huh? Uh-What?" Midoriya responds, caught by surprise.

"You've been acting kinda strange these last few weeks. There something you want to talk about?"

"Oh well, uh…" Midoriya stammers. "Actually… You see, I have this friend and, well, he's going through a tough time and…" He sees the look on Todoroki's face and frowns. "Sorry. It's kinda hard to explain without all the details and I can't really talk about it. It's just… sometimes it's hard to think about being a hero and helping people when there isn't some big villain to face."

"Isn't that part of being a hero, though?"

"Huh?"

"Aren't we taught that saving people isn't just about protecting them when they're in danger? Sometimes, it's about helping them emotionally too. That's something I learned from you, after all."

"_It's yours! Your Quirk, not his!"_

"Whatever it is this friend of yours is going through, I'm sure he'll be okay so long as you show you're there for him."

"I guess so." Midoriya says, reluctantly. "Thanks Todoroki".

"Yeah, sure." Todoroki looks to his right and sees All Might peeking his head around the corner. "I think All Might's looking for you".

"Hmm? Why do you say tha-?" Midoriya looks to All Might and sees the stern look on his face. All Might beckons his successor with a finger that says 'you're in big trouble, mister'. Midoriya is frozen in fear.

"I'll let you deal with… whatever that is," Todoroki says as he quietly walks away.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Didn't I tell you not to say anything, Young Midoriya?"

"I know. And I'm sorry All Might... it's just…" Midoriya makes a fist and holds it up, confidently. "I can't just do nothing when I know someone is in trouble. I wanted to help him. I needed to."

"There are rules to being a hero, you know," All Might says, crossing his arms. "And if Aizawa's right about one thing, it's that you don't stop to consider all the possibilities when you jump in to help someone".

"He was really upset, huh?" Midoriya asks, his head lowered in shame.

"We got lucky this time. He didn't give me nearly as much grief as I expected him to. In truth, I think I told you about the information I had because I wanted to help him just as much as you did. I guess I half expected you to jump on instinct, just as I would do".

"So… you're not mad at me?"

"Don't get the wrong idea, kid. We still have a long way to go to tame your reckless behavior. Even if it is with the best intentions, your willingness to jump into dangerous situations has caused you a lot of trouble in the past. I've been guilty of that myself, but my job is to train you to not make the same mistakes I did. To become an even greater hero than I ever was". All Might sees the ashamed look on Midoriya's face. "But I understand your frustration."

_A PHONE CALL IS HERE! A PHONE CALL IS HERE! A PHONE CALL IS HERE!_

"Is that Detective Tsukauchi?" Midoriya asks.

"Yeah, I'm hoping he has more information for me off the books".

"I should get going then, huh?" Midoriya asks, feeling a little uneasy about being given confidential information now.

"That might be best. At least to keep us both out of trouble for now. We'll finish this conversation later."

"Yeah, okay, sure. I'll see you later then." Midoriya says, getting up from his seat and heading to the door. All Might waits just an extra few seconds so that Midoriya is out of earshot before answering his phone.

"Thanks for keeping me in the loop, Tsukauchi."

"Of course. I do have to report all of this officially, but I figured I'd touch base with you first."

"I appreciate it. What do you have?"

"Well, your judgment was on the mark. As it turns out, Aizawa and Adachi have known each other for quite some time. Apparently, they grew up together in an orphanage in Ueno district. They both applied to UA at the same time and passed the written exam with scores that were well above average. When it came to the practical exam, however, Aizawa scored at the bottom of his class, while Adachi was ranked on par with those who were let in based on recommendations. Given Aizawa's skillset and the difference in performance between the two of them, it's safe to say this Adachi guy has an immensely powerful Quirk."

"Yeah, that's definitely not good," All Might muses to himself.

"Adachi spent only a few months at UA before he was expelled, but there's nothing on the record as to what exactly happened. We don't know if it just wasn't reported, or maybe the records were destroyed at some point. Since his expulsion, there'd been no trace of the guy until The Paradox Council got on our radar. Fifteen years this guy essentially didn't exist. But there's no doubt in my mind that Aizawa remembers this guy, even after all these years. There must be some reason he lied to us when he said he didn't know him".

"Aizawa isn't involved in any of this. That, I'm sure of".

"I wasn't suggesting that. Aizawa's done great work as a hero and as a teacher at UA and given the fact that they haven't had contact in years, we can assume he isn't in alignment with The Paradox Council. But there must be something he knows that we don't. We're trying to find out more about Adachi's past, but we only have what's officially on record. It would really help to hear Aizawa's side of things. And with the current situation, the sooner the better".

"Err, I'm not sure how likely it would be that he'd open up about all that. Aizawa's a pretty private guy".

"That's where you come in. The two of you are colleagues, after all. If he'd open up to anyone, I'd hope it would be you. There's civilian life at stake here. Whatever the circumstances between the two of them, I'm sure he'd do the right thing in the end".

"I'll see what I can do." All Might sighs, before hanging up the phone.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

As Midoriya walks down the hall back to his room, he passes by the teacher's lounge, where he sees Eri laying on the ground, drawing. "Hey there, Eri!" Midoriya walks up to the young girl and sits cross-legged on the ground next to her.

"Hi Mr. Deku!" She responds, looking up only briefly from her drawing.

"That looks like fun. What are you drawing?"

"Your friends!" Eri smiles, kicking her legs up in the air as she continues to draw.

"Wow, that looks really good. You've even got Kaminari down to a T." Midoriya grins as he points out Kaminari's signature 'whey' face.

"Oh!" Eri yelps as she springs up from the ground. She shuffles over to the table where other drawings lay. She grabs the stack of papers and scurries back over to Midoriya. "Here! I drew this for you".

"For me?" Midoriya takes the papers Eri hands him and looks at the drawing on the top.

"It's you and me and Mr. Lemillion at the festival". She says as she goes back to her current drawing of class A. Midoriya examines every detail of the drawing. Even if it is just a scribbled kid's drawing, they all look so happy, which, in turn, makes Midoriya happy. This day was the first time she had smiled, so it's a really precious gesture to him.

"This means a lot Eri. Thank you. I'll find a place to hang this up in my room."

"Are they going to let you all out soon?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah," Midoriya assures her. "I'm sure they'll be letting us leave as soon as they can". Midoriya looks back down at the stack of papers to take a look at the other drawings. There's a drawing of Eri eating apples with Tokoyami and an ambiguous drawing of Mineta being scolded by the 1A girls. At the bottom of the stack is a drawing of Aizawa frowning. Midoriya knows this isn't Eri's normal perception of Aizawa. After all, even Bakugo is smiling in one of these drawings. Midoriya frowns too at the sight of this.

"Aizawa-Sensei seems sad." Eri tells him. Midoriya's stomach drops. His teacher could be a lot of things, but sad usually wasn't a way to describe him.

"Are you worried about him, Eri?"

Eri nods quietly. "Is Aizawa-Sensei in trouble?"

"Honestly?" Midoriya says, lowering his head. "I'm not sure."

"Can you help him, Mr. Deku?" Eri asks, finally pulling her attention from her drawing.

"Huh?"

"You all helped me before when I needed it. You saved me. If Aizawa-Sensei is in trouble, you can help him too, right?"

What can he say to this bright-eyed girl? He knows he isn't really in a position to help, so what can he say to her to not disappoint her? After a moment, the answer is clear to him. Midoriya puts on an honest and confident smile and looks to Eri.

"Aizawa-Sensei will be okay. He's a great hero who always does the most logical thing. If he's in trouble, he has what it takes to get through it. You don't need to worry about him. I promise."

"Yeah, okay!" Eri responds confidently. She really trusts Midoriya, so she believes what he says is the truth.

What neither of them sees is that Aizawa was just outside the doorway, listening in on the conversation. A bittersweet feeling, hearing the two of them talk. He didn't really feel like the hero Midoriya made him out to be. At least, not now.

"You mind if I color with you?" Midoriya asks, picking out his own sheet of paper.

"Okay!"

"Hey, where's the green?"

"I used a whole crayon on your hair…"


	5. Story of The Boy with The Magic Quirk

**A/N:** I finished this chapter earlier than expected, so I decided to post it early. I'm so giddy to share this with you all, so I do hope you like it. Buckle up for this one, fellas!

(No manga spoilers for this chapter)

* * *

**CHAPTER 5: THE STORY OF THE BOY WITH THE MAGIC QUIRK**

It's late night at the UA dorms. The students are all fast asleep but Aizawa, of course, is up late working. Aizawa gets a text from All Might, asking to meet with him and Tsukauchi. Their first meeting didn't exactly go very well, but maybe with just the three of them, things will feel a little less confrontational.

Despite his better judgment, Aizawa decides to meet with them.

"This gonna take a while?" Aizawa asks, rubbing his head.

"Hopefully not," Tsukauchi says, gesturing for Aizawa to have a seat. This meeting is a lot less formal than the first one they had. A little less defensive than before, Aizawa decides to sit, and hear what they have to say.

"Sorry to blindside you like this." All Might tells him. "Tsukauchi?" He turns to his friend to begin the conversation.

"I'll cut to the chase, Eraser. We're well aware of your connection to Yukio Adachi. Whatever your reasoning for keeping that from us, it really doesn't concern me. What matters is that The Paradox Council is incredibly dangerous and with the activity we've been tracking, there are a number of concerns we have."

"Such as?"

"There's been another kidnapping. It happened a few hours ago, in Taito. A ten-year-old boy with a Mind-Reading Quirk. As I stated before, we don't know what these villains are after, but considering they're taking children now…" Tsukauchi pauses for a moment. "Well, I just couldn't live with myself if I didn't do everything in my power to stop them. If there is any information you have about Adachi, that could help us tremendously with our investigation".

Aizawa lets out a long, quiet sigh. "I guess I have no choice then. I wasn't honest with you before because I didn't think I had anything that could help. That was my mistake. And truth be told, I didn't really want to relive all of this again. But I suppose what you're asking of me is completely rational. So, I'll cooperate. What do you want to know?"

All Might is surprised to see this reaction out of Aizawa. Calm, apologetic, vulnerable.

"We know that you and Adachi grew up together at that orphanage in Ueno. But what exactly was your relationship to him?" Tsukauchi asks.

"He was my friend. I was the new kid there, and I wasn't exactly well liked. Growing up, I couldn't really control my Quirk, and I couldn't fight worth a damn, either. Yukio taught me both those things. He'd always protect me when we were kids…" Aizawa's ashamed to admit it, but… "He's the reason I became a hero."

_The kids in the orphanage all gather around for lunchtime. The kids that prepared lunch for the day all stand behind the tables with little aprons and gloves on, passing out food. Shouta stands quietly in line, making sure not to make eye contact with anyone as food is put on his tray. When he gets to the end of the line, the young boy on the other side of the table grimaces._

_"Hey there Quirk Thief," the boy sneers. Shouta keeps quiet, hoping to avoid further torment. "What's wrong? You got a problem with today's lunch?"_

_"No…" He murmurs._

_"No?" The boy hocks a loogie and spits it into Shouta's food. All the kids nearby burst into laughter. "How about now?" Shouta grips the sides of his food tray, trying to suppress his emotions. "Aww, what's wrong? You gonna cry, Quirk Thief? You gonna cry for your mommy?" Shouta is hit with a memory from when his mother was still alive—this sets him off. If only he had been able to protect her then, he wouldn't be here now. All the pain and ridicule he's experienced; he can't help but think it's all his fault. Unable to control his anger, Shouta grabs his tray of food and slams it in the face of the boy. Before the boy can retaliate, a teacher steps in between the two of them._

_"Children! What is going on?" The teacher asks._

_"Shouta's so mean! He just threw his lunch at me for no reason! I didn't even do anything!" The boy fake-cries._

_"That's not true!" Shouta retorts, desperately._

_"Shouta, did you do this?" The teacher asks him._

_"… Yes. But—"_

_"No excuse. Out into the hall!" The teacher orders._

_Shouta stands in the hall, holding up two buckets filled with water. His fingers are pale, and his arms twitch, struggling to keep the buckets from dropping. The teacher enters the hall, with Yukio right behind her. Yukio stands next to Shouta, with a pout on his face. The teacher hands Yukio another two water-filled buckets and sighs._

_"I don't know what to do with the two of you anymore. You've both been nothing but trouble since you came here. I just wish you'd behave more. Maybe then, someone will find a home for you". The teacher sighs and heads back into the classroom, leaving the two boys alone in the hall._

_"What does she know?" Yukio growls. "We're not the ones causing trouble. It's all those other kids' fault." Yukio turns to Shouta, who is promptly ignoring him. "Ain't that right?" He doesn't respond. "Shouta?"_

_ "You shouldn't be talking to me. We're gonna get in more trouble."_

_"So? I can take it! These buckets aren't even heavy."_

_"What are you talking about—" Shouta looks over and realizes Yukio doesn't seem to be having any trouble holding the buckets up. "How are you…?" Shouta is surprised to see how easy it is for Yukio._

_Yukio's face grows serious. "Besides… I can't stand bullies. They're the same as villains. What gives them the right to hurt people who haven't done anything wrong? It isn't fair. Heroes are always helping others, even if there's risks involved."_

_This makes Shouta smile, albeit just a little._

"I had never really thought about becoming a hero before. It wasn't something I thought was actually possible for someone like me. It wasn't until I got to see Yukio's Quirk in action that that started to change."

_While all the other kids in the orphanage sleep soundly in their beds, Yukio and Aizawa sneak away, heading outside._

_ "Come on!" Yukio whispers, holding Shouta by the arm as they run outside. On the way out the back door, he grabs a lantern in his other hand. Shouta is barely able to keep up; being dragged by Yukio._

_"Hey, slow down!"_

_They make their way into a wooded area behind the orphanage. The sun has completely set, and the only light that surrounds them is that of the stars and a single lantern._

_"We're not supposed to be out here. What if we get in trouble?" Shouta asks, more afraid of the dark than getting caught, though he'd never admit that. "What are we doing here?"_

_"You'll see." Yukio says, the childish grin still plastered on his face. Yukio sets the lantern on the ground and kneels with it. Shouta watches, not sure what to expect. Yukio takes his right hand and places it directly in the flames with his palm facing up._

_"Stop, you'll burn your hand!" Shouta reaches out to stop Yukio but pauses when he notices Yukio is still calm as ever. Yukio stands and faces Shouta. The flames still roar in the lantern, while more fire rests in his palm, though not burning him._

_"Hold out your hand," Yukio says with that pesky grin of his still on his face._

_"Why, what are you-?" Shouta does so, confused. Before he can finish his sentence, with his free hand, Yukio grabs Shouta's other arm and a third, smaller, flame appears in the palm Shouta is holding out. "S-stop, stop it!" Shouta screams, trying to break free of Yukio's grip. Shouta stops for a moment and realizes the fire on his hand is not burning him at all. In fact, he feels nothing. Once Yukio sees that Shouta knows what's happening, he lets go and the flame disappears from Shouta's hand._

_Shouta steps back in amazement, trying to grasp what Yukio's Quirk really is. It can't just be fire manipulation since he extended his power to Shouta's body. So how? Just what is his Quirk?_

_With his hand still on fire, Yukio lifts his arm in the air and thrusts the flame upward. Shouta gasps in shock, seeing that the flame is floating in the air. With careful gestures of his fingers, Yukio makes the hovering flame spin in a circle, almost creating a fiery cyclone._

_"Whoa…" Shouta whispers out loud, unable to hide his fascination with Yukio's power. Then, with one snap of the fingers, Yukio's floating flame turns into a blue light. "What… is that?" Shouta says, his confusion turning into wonder._

_"It's my Quirk." With one last flick of the wrist, Yukio sends the blue flame upward again and watches as the flame starts bursting into sparks and explodes like a firework. Both the lights from the fire and the sound from the sparks fade out, and both boys are left in the darkness again, with only the flame from one lone lantern._

_"That was incredible… How-how did you do that?" Shouta asks, amazed._

_"I don't really know," Yukio chuckles, with a smile on his face._

_"You mean, you don't know what it is? That didn't just look like fire resistance. It didn't burn me either, after all. A-and you made it blow up. I've never seen anything like that!"_

_"It's not just fire. I can do lots of stuff with my Quirk." Yukio steps forward to a nearby stream and leans down. He takes a stick and starts swirling the water around with it. "I figured it out on accident. I was playing where I shouldn't have been, and I fell from really high up. I remember thinking how much I didn't want to hit the ground. So, I kept thinking 'don't hit the ground', 'don't hit the ground'. Then I started falling slower and slower. And I was able to land on my feet, without hurting myself."_

_"But that doesn't explain what you did just now."_

_"Yeah, it does. I have a magic Quirk. I just think what I want to happen, and it does."_

_"That's incredible. So, you can do anything with it? Like, you could put out fires or stop buildings from falling! You'd be such an awesome hero!"_

_ "I can't use it forever though. Like… hmmm… okay, think about this. If you cup water in your hands, you can hold it, right? But eventually, it will trickle through your fingers until it's all gone. And if something knocks the water out of your hands, you'll let go of it all at once. That's what happens if I don't concentrate, my Quirk sort of shuts off."_

_"But still! You can do a lot more cool stuff with a Quirk like that!" Shouta's excitement quickly turns into disappointment. "Not like me. I'm just a Quirk Thief." Without warning, Yukio smacks Shouta in the back of the head. "Ow! What was that for?"_

_"Don't say that. You're not a thief. You've got a cool Quirk too, Shouta. You can take the powers from the bad guys and then beat 'em up! In fact, we'd make a great tag team, you and me! You've got what it takes to be a hero, Sho-chan. Never forget that."_

_"I told you not to call me that!"_

_"Sorry, kid," Yukio chuckles, rubbing the back of his head._

_"That too!"_

_"Old habit. Ha ha."_

"Despite everything I had always been told, Yukio made me believe that my power could be used for good. That I could help people. And we made a pact to achieve that goal together. That's how I ended up applying to UA."

_"Me, go to UA? You're joking right?"_

_"Nah, man, I'm serious! Think about it! With a Quirk like yours, you can take out all kinds of enemies with surprise attacks. They'll never expect it."_

_"Maybe, but I still can't control when my power activates. It's unpredictable. There's no way I'd pass their entrance exam. It'd be impossible."_

_"Heroes don't worry about what's impossible! All we have to do is figure out what triggers your Quirk and learn to control it."_

_"Hmph. You make it sound easy."_

_"We won't know until we try, ha ha!"_

_"How are you always like that?"_

_"Hmm? Like what?"_

_"Happy?"_

_"It's just in my nature, I guess."_

"That's how he always was. Always praising heroes, working hard to become one. He worked harder than anyone I ever knew. I'm sure the only reason I managed to pass the entrance exam was because of all the stuff he taught me. All the training we did together."

"Do you know why Yukio was expelled?"

"Class B's teacher was always wary of Yukio. He didn't like that a kid with an unknown Quirk was accepted into the school in the first. I don't know that I blame him; it's hard to teach a student with a mysterious Quirk like that. He tried to have him expelled from the start, but administration wouldn't support the motion without reason. Anyway, we had a joint-training exercise one day with both the classes. It was supposed to be a rescue exercise, but Yukio ended up going a little overboard…"

_"What's the matter with you, Adachi? You nearly got Sensoji killed, pulling a stunt like that." Class B's teacher yells at Yukio._

_"Nah, he would've been fine. I trust my power."_

_"Right, this 'magic' Quirk of yours. You don't even know what it is, how can you possibly say you can control it? I don't care what scores you got in the entrance exam. If you can't bother to learn your own Quirk, then a kid like you has no business being at this school. With that careless attitude, someone like you can never be a hero"._

_Yukio's smile fades, and his eyes go dull. Something's switched in his mind. Yukio's eyes burn with rage. He's never looked like this; at least not to Shouta. Yukio clenches his teeth. His fists tighten and his eyes close shut, trembling with uncontrollable anger._

_The teacher's unamused expression quickly turns to shock. His eyes open wide and he suddenly reaches for his throat, choking and gasping for air. The students clamor, unsure of what's happening._

_"Sensei?" A student asks, meekly._

_Shouta watches, realizing Yukio is intently focused._

_"Hey… Yukio…?" Shouta steps forward, cautiously. He remembers when Yukio told him 'I just think of what I want to happen, and it does'._

_Is Yukio doing this? Is he trying to kill him?_

_Shouta steps forward again and places a hand on Yukio's shoulder. "Hey, c'mon, man. Cut it out." Yukio's eyes stay closed, ignoring his friend's presence. He persists; fists clenched so tight that his palms start to bleed. The teacher's face starts turning blue as he falls to his knees and collapses to the ground. Class A's teacher rushes over to help but isn't sure what to do._

_"Someone! Get some help!" He shouts. Class B's teacher starts writhing on the floor, still struggling to breathe. The students are all too afraid to move._

_"Yukio! Yukio, stop!" Shouta orders._

_But Yukio won't listen. Shouta has no choice but to use his Erasure. Shouta turns off Yukio's Quirk, and class B's teacher can finally take in air._

_"Huff, huff, huff…" Class B's teacher tries to get his bearings, seeing only the ominous figure of Yukio standing over him. "You…"_

_"Yukio… what did you do?" Shouta asks, stunned by what Yukio just did. Shouta puts his hand on his friend's shoulder again, and Yukio recoils quickly._

_"Don't touch me!" Yukio yells, smacking Shouta's hand away. Yukio looks around at the other students, frightened by him. "What?! What are you all looking at?! I'm not a villain! He is!" He points dramatically at Class B's teacher, nearly foaming at the mouth._

_"Yukio, what's gotten into you?" Shouta asks, afraid to touch him again. Yukio lunges forward and grabs Shouta by the shirt collar._

_"Shut up!" Yukio makes a fist and punches Shouta in the face. The students all gasp. Yukio pauses for a brief moment but then proceeds to hit Shouta again, and again, and again. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"_

_"That's enough!" The class A teacher shouts._

_Another pause, and then one last punch before Yukio releases his grip and Shouta falls to the ground. Yukio looks to all the other students who are staring at him, then down to Shouta who has blood trickling down his nose. Shouta looks at him, weak and afraid, while Yukio looks back at him with disdain._

_"Yu… ki…" Shouta tries to reach out to his friend but finds his consciousness slowly slipping away._

"That was the last time I had seen Yukio."

"What on Earth would cause him to snap like that?" All Might asks.

"I don't know. And I can't understand why he would end up joining the side of the villains. All he had ever wanted was to be a hero. For something so simple to change all of that… I just don't understand it. I never have."

"Do you have any idea why none of this is on record at UA?" Tsukauchi asks.

"I don't have any proof, but I do have a theory. Class B's teacher had a Quirk that made people forget things. Similar to mine, in a way, he could erase things from peoples' memory. That's the most logical explanation I have for it anyway. They had reported he had been expelled without including any of the details. The faculty held an investigation into the mishandled paperwork, but nothing ever came of it. They brushed Yukio's file aside and his seat in Class B was filled with a new student just a few days later."

"If everyone's memory was erased, then, why do you remember all this?" All Might asks.

"I'm not entirely sure. I lost consciousness shortly after that altercation, but I remember waking up in the nurse's office and my memory was a little fuzzy at the time. My best guess is that it wasn't as effective on me because I was already unconscious at the time. A few days later, it all came back to me. I was too afraid to confront the teachers about it, thinking they'd expel me too. I couldn't risk that. I tried contacting him to figure out what really happened, but I could never reach him."

"And what about Adachi's Quirk?" Tsukauchi asks.

"In all honesty, I still don't know what his Quirk is. I had always tried to figure it out back then, but it's been in the forefront of my mind these last few weeks. Nothing I can think of explains the kinds of things he could do with fire, or levitation, certainly nothing that could also cause the loss of another person's Quirk."

"And you don't know anything about his parents? What their Quirks might've been?"

Aizawa shakes his head. "He was in the orphanage a few years before me, so I doubt he knew much about them either. That kind of information wouldn't be accessible to someone like me. Maybe it's something you could look into."

"I have people looking into it already, but I was hoping we'd be able to cut some corners here. Time is precious after all."

"Is all of that enough to help you?" Aizawa asks, a bit of sadness hidden in his voice.

"It's more than what we had before. Thank you." Tsukauchi stands, followed by All Might and Aizawa. "We'll continue to do what we can on our end, and we'll let you know if we find anything."

"When you do track him down, just… maybe put his past into consideration? He was a good kid. Wanted to be a hero more than anyone I've ever met. I don't know what caused things to turn out like this, but the Yukio I knew still exists somewhere in there."

"Of course. And when we get him, we'll be sure to let you speak with him again."

"No," Aizawa holds his hand up. "That's alright. I trust you'll do the right thing with him, when the time comes."

Aizawa makes his way out of the room, leaving just Tsukauchi and All Might together.

"He give you anything useful?" All Might asks.

"Well, I don't feel good about it," Tsukauchi begins "but I think he might have. I'll have to do some more digging, but I think we're getting closer."


	6. A Quirk to Be Afraid of?

**A/N:** Sorry this took way too insanely long to update. Life gets busy sometimes, especially around the holidays. But I'm here and ready to finish out this story! Just a few more chapters left, and I've already got a big chunk of it finished. I hope to have the rest of this finished by the end of next month, so stay tuned!

(No manga spoilers for this chapter)

* * *

**CHAPTER SIX: A QUIRK TO BE AFRAID OF?**

_"Huff, huff, huff, huff…"_

_It had only been a few days since his mother was killed and, suddenly, a young Shouta was all alone. During the incident, when his mother realized there was no chance of her getting away, she told him to run, and that's exactly what he did. He ran before the police could come, just to get as far away as possible. He didn't know where he was going or if he would even make it, but he had to try._

_He's too young to know how to take the subway on his own, and he doesn't really know his way around his hometown. In every sense of the word, he is lost. So, he wanders aimlessly, hoping someone – anyone— will find him._

_People notice as he walks by, but no one stops to help. He cradles himself to keep warm, the bitter cold piercing his lungs and escaping from his mouth as a thick cloud of air._

_He just keeps walking, dredging through the snow, until he can't anymore. Completely out of energy, he collapses to the ground._

_"Is that a child?" One passerby asks._

_"What happened to him?" Another says._

_"Someone should do something."_

_Before anyone can decide what to do, a mysterious figure appears and lifts the unconscious Shouta off the ground, cradling him._

_"It's alright, you're safe now. I am here," an adult male voice says. Now in the arms of a stranger, Shouta just barely opens his eyes. "Jeez, you must be freezing, kid." The mysterious man takes the gray scarf around his neck and wraps it around Shouta to keep him warm. His small frame is almost completely enveloped in the fabric. "You'll be alright now. Let's get you someplace safe"._

_"A… hero…?" With that, Shouta falls out of consciousness again._

_Now at a place called Iyashi Hospital, Shouta sleeps soundly in a bed for the first time in a while. Iyashi is a type of hospital run only by heroes. It acts as a safe haven for those who need treatment beyond what average hospitals can provide. These heroes all have very useful Quirks that are used to protect and treat people, but they suffer major setbacks when using them or don't have the right skillset to fight, so they built Iyashi to help people in the only way they can._

_A group of heroes sit together in a large office, each doing their own work of some kind. A young man with messy brown hair, wearing purple pajamas, steps out of a back room and joins the other heroes in the office._

_"How's the kid doing, Somnia?" A middle-aged female hero asks. This hero, known as Doctor X, is able to use x-rays in her eyes to look at a person and see where they might need medical treatment. Physical injuries are most notable, as she is able to see broken bones or other internal injuries. But she is also able to identify what is causing a person's distressed emotional state and determine how best to alleviate the situation. As such, her power is best suited to triaging and diagnosing patients._

_"He's out like a light," Somnia, the Sleep Hero yawns, on the brink of exhaustion. This hero's Quirk allows him to put people to sleep, but it ends up draining him of energy in return. "Never had anyone take this much outta my Quirk. My best guess? He's been awake for about a week straight."_

_"How is that possible?" A muscular, blue-haired hero asks. "Wouldn't someone eventually suffer delusions and die after only a few days?"_

_Somnia walks over to the coffee pot and pours himself a cup. "It's pretty typical, yeah. But sometimes people can go on for even longer when their adrenaline is running. Something terrible must have happened to him"._

_Doctor X chimes in. "Well, from what I could tell, he's suffered no serious health problems, other than mild hypothermia and hunger. Seems like he's just a kid who ran away."_

_"Any luck on the ID, Data?" One hero asks another. Much like Ragdoll's "Search" Quirk, the hero known as Data can search their mental database based on someone's fingerprints to figure out who someone is. However, his database is limited only to a person's genetic makeup, including their age, face, and Quirk. He can use this information to search a computer database for an individual's name as well as any other documented personal information._

_"Shouta Aizawa. Six years old. There's news articles that state that his mother was killed recently." Data responds._

_"A villain?" The blue-haired hero asks._

_"Not according to what I found. Lover's quarrel gone wrong; it seems."_

_"So, the father, then?" Somnia asks._

_"I'm not sure. I couldn't find any records for the father, and the DNA test didn't turn up anything substantial either. My best guess is the father's out of the picture, and the mom just hooked up with the wrong guy."_

_"And this kid got mixed up in all that? The poor thing." Doctor X adds._

_"There's one more thing." Data pauses for a moment. "I couldn't find a Quirk for him in my internal database. I figure that could only mean one of two things. Since he's a few years older than the normal age for Quirk manifestation, either this kid's Quirkless, or he's got some new type of Quirk no one's seen before."_

_The heroes in the room go silent, as this is an unprecedented situation for them._

_"So… what should we do?" Somnia asks._

_"We treat him. That's our job." Doctor X tells them._

_"But Quirk mutations are so rare these days. I-if we don't know what sort of Quirk he has, then who knows what could happen? This boy could put us all in danger." A female hero says._

_"That's true. The cases of children injuring themselves or someone else from their Quirk manifesting is remarkably high." The blue-haired hero says._

_"Not to mention the mortality rate-"_

_"Or it could be harmless." Doctor X assures them. "He could shoot glitter out of his fingers, for all we know. We can't react out of fear. That's not what heroes do. For now, we wait. When he wakes up, he can answer some questions for us."_

_"Hey there, Shouta. Glad to see you're awake. How are you feeling?" Doctor X greets him kindly, setting a glass of water down next to the bed. The other heroes are in the room as well, keeping their distance._

_"Where am I?" He asks, sitting up in bed, rubbing his eyes._

_"You're at Iyashi. It's a hospital run by heroes. You like heroes don't'cha?"_

_Shouta is still a bit frightened by the situation; waking up in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people. He looks at the group of heroes, recognizing the somewhat forced smiles on their faces, hiding the fear inside of them._

_"I want my mom…" He says._

_ "Shouta… do you have any other family we can get in touch with? Like, your father, or maybe a grandparent?" Somnia asks._

_Shouta shakes his head solemnly. "It's just me and mom." He's quiet for a moment. "Where is she? I want my mom."_

_Doctor X frowns. "I know you do. But, first, can you tell us about your Quirk? Do you have one yet?" He nods. "Do you know what it is?"_

_"I can make them go away."_

_"Make what go away?"_

_"Other Quirks."_

_The heroes in the room all look at one another, concerned. _

_"What should we do with him? He's got no family to go to, after all."_

_"We have to send him to an orphanage. He's a ward of Tokyo now."_

_"Apparently the boy has a Quirk that can make other Quirks disappear. We're not entirely sure how it works, because we've never seen him use it. He doesn't know how to make it work, and frankly, we're not sure we want to find out. You'll want the other children to be apprised of this. It might be safer until we have a better understanding of his Quirk."_

_"Quirk Thief!"_

_"Quirk Thief!"_

_"Quirk Thief!"_

_A few weeks after his whole world had changed; losing his mother, being sent to an orphanage, and being outcast by everyone around him because of his Quirk, he managed to find someone who was there to protect him. A friend who had his back; who made sure he was never alone. They grew up together, and eight years after meeting, they both decided to start training together and set their sights on becoming heroes._

_"C'mon, man, get up. I didn't hit you that hard." Yukio commands, standing in front of Shouta who is doubled over on the ground._

_Shouta pants heavily, desperately trying to catch his breath. "I… can't."_

_"Don't say that! It's a hero's job to keep fighting, even when they think they can't. And when the bad guys think they're out of strength, that's always when the hero gets back on his feet. That's what it means to be a hero!"_

_"You say that, but it's not that easy for me." Shouta looks away from Yukio, ashamed. "You've got such a powerful and versatile Quirk. I'm basically useless without mine. It's not that easy to just fight back."_

_"That's what this training is for. If we can turn you into a combat fighter, you'd be an unstoppable hero."_

_"And what makes you so sure I can actually learn to fight?"_

_"Dunno. Just a hunch I have." _

_Shouta scoffs at this comment. "You know, that positive attitude of yours can get annoying sometimes."_

_Yukio ignores this and instead offers Shouta a hand to get back up on his feet. "Here's the deal. You commit to this training, one hundred percent, for a full week. And if you can manage to hit me at least once, you have to apply to UA with me."_

_"This again? I told you, Yukio, I'd never get into that school, no matter how much I train. Besides what do I even get out of this deal of yours? Other than the chance to punch you for once." He smirks._

_"You want to be a hero too, right? UA is the best place to make that happen! Trust me. This is the best-case scenario for you. If you don't train, you won't get stronger. And if you don't get stronger…" Yukio steps closer to Shouta. "You'll never be able to avenge your mom."_

_Shouta is caught off guard by this comment, since Yukio usually isn't this intrusive. "I…"_

_"I know you wanna save people." He says, softly. He puts a hand on Shouta's shoulder. "You've got a good heart. Even with that wall you've got up."_

_Shouta is touched by this, but he's also a little embarrassed, so he tries to hide it. "Yeah, okay. Whatever."_

_Yukio chuckles. "Alright! Let's keep going! The entrance exam is in a few months; we don't got a lot of time!"_

_"I keep telling you, Shouta. You've gotta learn to control your Quirk more. You can't always activate it on command, and sometimes it activates sporadically. That's not gonna be good in a fight."_

_"Yeah, I know that already. How am I supposed to fix that?"_

_Yukio thinks about this for a minute. "Close your eyes."_

_"Why?"_

_"Just do it."_

_Shouta scoffs but does as he's told. "How is this supposed to help me?" Yukio doesn't respond. "Yukio?" Still no response. Shouta opens one eye to peek at what Yukio is doing, but when he looks, he sees that Yukio is gone. He looks around, trying to see where he went, but he can't find him. Before he can call out to him again, Yukio jumps out from a tree, landing right in front of Shouta. Shouta yelps, startled by this, and his Quirk activates._

_"That's what I thought." Yukio smirks._

_"What the hell, man? You almost gave me a heart attack." Shouta says, shoving Yukio's shoulder._

_"I figured it out. Remember when you told me about the time your Quirk first manifested?" Shouta recalls the moment his mother was being abused, and his Quirk first emerged. He was afraid to fight back against the man who was attacking them, but his Quirk was there to protect them. "And when you first came to the orphanage?" The moment he was bombarded by a kid with a similar Quirk to the man who abused his mother, his Quirk activated yet again, afraid of the boy's power. "Your Quirk responds to fear. You use it when you're afraid as a means to protect yourself or others."_

_"I… guess that makes sense."_

_"Your whole life, everyone's been afraid of your Quirk. Including you. If you change the way you see your Quirk, then you should be able to control it better. So instead of using your Quirk for defense, try thinking of it as a prerequisite for an offensive attack. Take away the bad guy's means to fight back and overwhelm them with your combat skills."_

_The two of them trained for several weeks. They practiced stealth, hand to hand combat, and overall working to improve control over Shouta's Quirk. In the beginning, Shouta got beat down a lot; wanting to give up every day. But Yukio wouldn't let him. He always gave him some sort of speech about trying his best and finding strength within himself; pushing past his limits to go beyond._

_And with each training session, Shouta got better. He mastered control over his quirk and learned a lot of new fighting techniques. His use of Erasure, followed by a sneak attack, proved to be most effective. Though, Yukio narrowly avoided his attacks every time. Until…_

_"I did it?" Shouta pants, his mouth open in amazement. Out of breath, he looks to Yukio, flat on his back, after having been knocked to the ground by Shouta. He finally managed to hit Yukio. "I… did it?"_

_Yukio reaches up, touching his cheek, where the sting of Shouta's punch still sits. "You sure did," Yukio says with a grin on his face._

_Shouta laughs, proud. "I can't believe it." Shouta's uproarious laughter turns into awe and shock. "I'm gonna be a hero," he realizes._

_"Not yet," Yukio says, standing up. "We still have to pass UA's entrance exam. But yeah…" Yukio smiles at his friend. "You're gonna be a hero."_

_"You haven't decided what your hero costume's gonna look like yet?" Yukio asks, now sitting next to Shouta in class 1-A. The students are all required to write up a request for their hero costumes, as their first set of training exercises are going to begin soon._

_Shouta shrugs. "Who cares what I look like? It's not really something I'm interested in."_

_"Well, I can help you with it."_

_"Design the whole thing, for all I care." He says, tossing the paper to him, casually._

_"No, this has gotta be something you put your heart into, Shochan. You don't want to end up looking like Hizashi, do you?"_

**_~"HHHHHEEEEEEEYYYY!"~_**

_"Here, let's start small. Why don't you think of a color?"_

_"Black, I guess." He mutters._

_"Ah, that's perfect! Since you'll want to work as a stealth hero, you can be disguised by the night. I like it." Yukio starts coloring in the paper._

_Shouta perks up a tiny bit, getting more interested in the idea. "I might also need a utility belt of some kind. You know, in case I need to disarm a villain or something."_

_"I like it. I like it." Yukio says, sketching frantically. "What else?"_

_Shouta thinks for a moment, then shrugs. "I don't know. What else is there?"_

_"You want something that's gonna make you stand out. Something that defines you as a hero."_

_Shouta thinks for a moment, recalling the moment he was saved by a mysterious man after his mother's death. The first person who felt like a real hero to Shouta._

_Shouta takes the paper and draws on it before handing it back to Yukio. "What's this? A scarf?"_

_"It's just… something important to me, alright?"_

_"Okay, sure. But, how do you want to use it?"_

_"You and me, we're gonna be heroes!" Yukio grins widely and holds his thumb out to Shouta. Shouta feigns a grin, then gives him a thumb back._

All of those memories feel like a lifetime ago to Aizawa. It's been over fifteen years, and the person he once knew as his friend, is no longer the man he remembers. A young, aspiring hero turned villain. How can any of what he's been hearing be true? And if it is true, how can any of the time they spent together have been real?

The thought of this has been plaguing Aizawa's mind for weeks. It's the only thing he's been able to think about. He's tormented by the thought of his old friend kidnapping and stealing Quirks from other people. What could have caused all this to happen? And could he have done something to stop it? Can he do something to stop it now?

Late at night, he sits at his desk, looking over some papers; files on the recent kidnapping victims:

Kuroda Shou, 21, from Edogawa. Quirk: Soar.

Fujioka Gina, 32, from Kōtō. Quirk: Void.

Nakajima Minori, 34, from Shinjuku. Quirk: Truth Serum.

Yoshihara Takashi, 25, from Shinjuku. Quirk: Elevation.

Yamaoka Michi, 29, from Shinjuku. Quirk: Pathway.

Oshima Hikaru, 30, from Minato. Quirk: Light Refraction.

Sugita Mayumi, 26, from Minato. Quirk: Archery.

Okano Shuichi, 10, from Taito. Quirk: Mind Reading.

"This is taking too long," Aizawa mutters to himself. "It's been two weeks since the last kidnapping. If not UA, where could they be headed next?" He looks at a map of Japan's districts, tracking the path of the kidnappings. "The first kidnapping was in Edogawa… then west to Kōtō … they crossed Chiyoda to get to Shinjuku… Then south to Minato and back north to Taito… There doesn't appear to be a real pattern here. If there isn't a pattern, then what? The victims themselves? There must be a nexus. Or could they just be doing all this at random?" He mulls over the papers more, getting increasingly frustrated. "This doesn't make any sense… Wait a minute…!" He looks at one particular victim's file, analyzing the photo. "I remember him… Nakajima. He was at the orphanage with us…"

Aizawa recognizes this man with the Truth Serum Quirk as one of the kids who used to taunt him at the orphanage; the one that had spit in his food. He tormented Aizawa relentlessly for several months, always making him admit to stuff he was ashamed to say. For some reason, he had it out for Aizawa and bullied him every day until he was eventually adopted.

"How did he find him? And why him? Revenge? No… None of these other victims were in the orphanage as far as I remember. And this boy… Shuichi. How does he fit in to all this? He's just a child…" Aizawa goes back and forth between the countless files on his desk, searching desperately for something that will help him. "I need to put a stop to this. And soon."


End file.
